Page 146 of Storm of Bells
‘Th-there isn’t?’
‘No. Not one. Nine.’
‘Nine?’
‘Aberja doch, as Prince Albert would say.’[31]
‘P-please forgive me, My Lady!’ Instantly,the door was torn open. A diminutive woman in a dress made of someunidentifiable brownish-grey textile scuttled backwards, gesturingfor us to enter. ‘Please, come in, come in! I beg of you, pleaseforgive the state the house is in. We, um…have had some problemsrecently.’
‘Oh, it’s not that bad,’ I told her, justbefore a rotten piece of wooden lintel fell onto my head andbounced off. The woman in front of me made a hasty curtsy. At aguess, I would have said she was about thirty, although the drabdress and shadowy surroundings made her appear about ten yearsolder. It felt odd being bowed to by a woman several years mysenior—though I might be willing to get used to it from AuntBrank.
My gaze was drawn back to the woman, who wasstill busy curtsying. Apparently, she thought one wasn’t quiteenough. ‘Who do I ‘ave da ‘onor of ‘avin’ in me ‘ouse, MyLady?’
‘My name is Lilly.’ Smiling, I returned hercurtsey. ‘Miss Lilly Linton.’
‘Miss Lin—the new Lord’sfiancée?’
It was more a squeak than a question. Shescuttled back, towards the other people in the room that I nownoticed for the first time. Behind me, the vicar entered thehut.
‘Just look at that, Miss Linton.’ Sadly, thevicar shook his head, glancing around at the pitiable state ofrepair the cottage was in. ‘Have you ever seen such a miserablelittle dwelling?’
My mind flashed to a certain miniature roomup in the manor, with bare walls, nothing but a thin, moth-eatenmat on the ground, and cold, practically freezing air.
‘Yes.’ Swallowing, I nodded. ‘Yes, Ihave.’
‘And to imagine that the lord all over allthese lands lives in excess and luxury while his tenants house insuch miserable conditions.’
‘Terrible. Terrible,’ I muttered, onlylistening with half an ear. My attention was still on the miserablevision before my inner eye. Was this it? This was the way MrAmbrose had lived his whole life, so he didn’t know how to helpanyone rise beyond it? Not even himself?
Well, Lilly, you did promise yourself you’dmake a home for him, didn’t you?
My eyes fell on the family huddled togetherin the corner of the room. A mother and a father, with two littlegirls hiding in the mother’s skirts.
Technically, these people are part of hishome, aren’t they? After all, he owns the building. It’spractically my wifely duty to take care of them.
Of course, he might have different views onthe subject. But that had never really stopped me, right?
‘Well now!’ Rubbing my hands together, Iglanced around the little cabin. Right then, something droppedthrough the roof and landed with a thud on the floor. Maybe a deadbird. Maybe a part of the roof. It was hard to identify.‘Patsy?’
‘Aye aye, ma’am?’
‘Do you remember the trip we made to StCatherine’s Orphanage for Girls to help renovate and raiseconsciousness for women’s rights?’
‘You mean the trip that resulted in us beingbanned from the orphanage for life?’
‘Yes, that one! Do you still have all yourspiffing renovations skills?’
Patsy cracked her knuckles. The man of thehouse swiftly stepped in front of his two little children, hiswide, fearful eyes on Patsy.
‘Most certainly I do.’
‘Anyone else?’ I looked around. To mysurprise, the slim white hand that shot into the air belonged tonone other than my little sister.
‘Me, Lill!’ Her big eyes brimming withcompassion, she gazed around the family’s little space. ‘I’m notgood with anything outdoors, but I can clean and dust, mend clothand paint, and lots of other things.’
Amy’s hand shot into the air, too. ‘I ain’tafraid to get my ‘ands dirty.’
‘Excellent!’ I said, preferring to not thinkabout what exactly she could mean by that, considering where thosehands had been.
